Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Montgomery
County Council on Oct. 29 unanimously enacted Expedited Bill 8-13. The bill increases
the County’s Working Families Income Supplement for low-income households to 90
percent of the Maryland refundable credit beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, 95 percent in
FY16 and 100 percentin FY17 and beyond.

The
chief sponsor of Expedited Bill 8-13 is Councilmember Hans Riemer.
Councilmembers Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich and George Leventhal were co-sponsors.
The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, which is chaired by
Nancy Navarro and includes Councilmembers Riemer and Valerie Ervin, at a
worksession on Oct. 21 voted 3-0 to recommend that the full Council pass the
bill with several modifications.

The bill permits
the Council to approve a lower amount in the annual operating budget by a vote
of at least five Councilmembers. The minimum funding levels in the bill for the
WFIS will not apply in any year that the State increases its refundable earned
income credit above the current level.

“Montgomery County is often thought of as
one of the wealthiest counties in America. But while we do have many prosperous
communities, we also have a very high cost of living,” said Councilmember Riemer.
“Experts estimate that a household with two adults
and one preschooler needs $89,784 to get by. Many thousands of residents
struggle to earn this much, and poverty is growing faster in our County than anywhere
else in the region. As the County slowly recovers from recession, it's only
fair to working families that we help them recover too. I am gratified that we
continue to look out for our most vulnerable residents.”

Started in
1975, the EITC allows households earning income to apply tax credits to their
returns. The County Working Families Income Supplement (WFIS) is derived from
the federal earned income tax credit (EITC). The EITC is a refundable tax
credit for lower income working families and individuals. Recipients of the
WFIS include some of the lowest-paid residents of the County. To qualify for
the EITC in Tax Year 2013, a taxpayer must earn less than:

·$46,227 ($51,567 married filing jointly) with
three or more qualifying children

· $43,038
($48,378 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children

· $37,870
($43,210 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child

· $14,340
($19,680 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

The Tax Year 2013 maximum credit is:

·$6,044 with three or more qualifying children

·$5,372 with two qualifying children

·$3,250 with one qualifying child

·$487 with no qualifying children

In FY11, the
County had 33,840 WFIS recipients who received an average amount of $381.81
each. Restoring the County match to 100
percent would provide an additional $124, for a total of $505.81. For a worker on the edge, this could mean
making a car payment, paying an overdue utility bill, or paying rent. The program encourages people to work because
a recipient must have earned income to be eligible for a refund.

Twenty-two states (including Maryland), the District of
Columbia, New York City and Montgomery County offer their residents a WFIS
based upon the EITC. Maryland permits residents to claim a credit of one-half
of the federal EITC and provides a refund for up to 25 percent of the federal
EITC. In 2000, the County began matching 100 percent of the Maryland refundable
credit to help working County residents meet the high costs of living in
Montgomery County. In May 2010, the Council enacted Expedited Bill 33-10, which
permitted the Council to set the WFIS at less than 100 percent of the Maryland
refundable credit by resolution each year.

Accordingly,
the Council set the WFIS at 72.5 percent for FY11, 68.9 percent for FY12 and 75.5
percent for FY13.

On
May 23, 2013, the Council appropriated funds to increase the WFIS to 85 percent
of the Maryland refundable credit during FY14.

Montgomery
County learned on Oct. 28 that all three bond rating agencies—Standard & Poor’s,
Fitch and Moody’s—reconfirmed that the it has retained its AAA bond rating.

County
Council President Nancy Navarro, Council Vice President Craig Rice and County
Executive Isiah Leggett recently traveled to New York City to meet with
representatives of the bond rating agencies and explain steps the County has
taken to maintain its financial health during the Great Recession of recent
years and as the nation has begun to recover.

The
AAA bond rating allows Montgomery County to issue bonds for its capital
borrowing at the most favorable rates, saving County taxpayers millions of
dollars over the life of the bonds. The County's pending issuance will
refinance $295 million of bond anticipation notes and $27.7 million of
long-term debt.

Montgomery
County is only one of 38 counties (out of 3,140) in the nation to receive a AAA
rating from all three rating agencies.

Council
President Navarro, who has chaired the Council’s Government Operations and
Fiscal Policy Committee since 2010, said the following after learning the AAA
bond rating was confirmed:

“During
the Great Recession, the Council took extraordinary steps to strengthen
Montgomery County’s fiscal health. Starting in 2010, the Council approved a
balanced six-year fiscal plan that ensures the County develops a long-term
strategic approach to budgeting. The Council also made structural changes that
have enabled Montgomery County to bounce back faster than most jurisdictions
nationwide.

“This decision by the rating agencies is a
reflection of the hard work of this Council and the County Executive. During
the most challenging economic times, we developed a proactive strategy to put
our fiscal house in order for the future.

“The
land-use decisions the Council has made over the past few years—to invest in
smart-growth opportunities and encourage redevelopment in all corners of the
County—will create a strong tax base for years to come.

“Since
I joined the Council, we have closed a cumulative $2.7 billion budget gap,
slowed the rate of growth in expenditures and put our County on a sustainable
fiscal path. As our economic recovery continues, this decision today by the
rating agencies demonstrates that Montgomery County is moving in the right
direction.”

Hundreds of volunteers joined members of
Montgomery County’s nonprofit community in the early morning hours during Nov. 4-6
to assist in the County’s first-ever “Registry Week” that is a key element of
the 100,000 Homes Campaign. The
campaign seeks to reach out to the chronically homeless, especially those who
are medically vulnerable, to assess their needs and try to get them to accept
the variety of housing opportunities that are available to them.

During Registry Week, about 300 volunteers spread out throughout
the County from 4-7 a.m. on each of the three days to survey homeless
individuals who are living in streets, parks and other areas. By assessing the
reasons that they have attributed for refusing housing options, the County can
better formulate attempts to get them to accept housing.

Members of the Montgomery County Council,
County Executive Isiah Leggett and representatives of the County-wide
non-profit community worked for several months in urging residents to volunteer
for Registry Week. The survey of the homeless is part of the commitment Montgomery County has made in joining more
than 200 communities nationwide in the 100,000 Homes Campaign.

The local
campaign is a joint effort that includes Montgomery County Coalition for the
Homeless, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and
many other government agencies, nonprofits and organizations. This is the first time Montgomery County has
assembled an organized effort to participate in the 100,000 Homes Campaign.

The public
is invited to attend a community/media debriefing on the outcome and
results learned during Registry Week. The debriefing will take place at 11 a.m.
on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Council Office Building (COB) at 100 Maryland
Avenue in Rockville. At the event, formerly homeless individuals will share their
stories. Other speakers will talk about how the 100,000 Homes Campaign is
changing lives, the reality that people living on the street die 25 years
prematurely than the rest of society and how permanent housing is more cost
effective than hospital, jail and shelter recidivism.

It is
intended for the survey data to be utilized quickly and
efficiently to move the County’s most vulnerable chronically homeless neighbors
into permanent housing with supportive services.

Earlier this
year, the County participated in the 2013 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless
Persons in the Metropolitan Washington Region in which volunteers attempted to
count and survey as many homeless people as possible in a one-day event. That
count found that, on one given day, 1,007 individuals experienced homelessness
in Montgomery County, and that 222 of these individuals were chronically
homeless.

“The 100,000 Homes campaign has worked in
other areas of the nation and Montgomery County has been studying the most
successful practices used,” said County Councilmember George Leventhal, who
chairs the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, serves on the
Executive Committee of the Montgomery County 100,000 Homes Campaign and urged
the Council to fund the program. “We are fortunate in our County. If we can
identify the most medically vulnerable homeless people in our County who can be
helped, we have the resources to help them. Not all jurisdictions are in that
position. Taking this survey is crucial to the success of this effective
program.”

County Council Vice President Craig Rice
said the County must take steps to help solve a continuing problem.

“This County has done many things over
the years to help address our homeless population,” said Council Vice President
Rice. “The 100,000 Homes Campaign targets a special segment of this
population—a population that has been difficult to reach. Through this program,
and the steps that are being put in place, we now have a better chance of
letting them tell us their needs and then directly working to finding housing
for these most vulnerable people.”

County Executive Leggett said: “Helping
those most vulnerable in our community is extremely important. This campaign
will help us identify those at greatest need so we can help move them into
permanent housing.”

This past summer, the local Campaign reported 64 of the most vulnerable
people were housed since the County joined the 100,000 Homes Campaign, helping
push the national campaign to over 50,000 housing placements. Currently the
national 100,000 Homes Campaign has housed over 70,000 homeless individuals.

“The Campaign has been preparing for this
monumental moment when we will join together as a community to not only
assesses homeless individuals’ needs towards effectively housing them, but we
will also know them each by name,” says MCCH Executive Director Susie
Sinclair-Smith.

For more
information on the Montgomery County 100,000 Homes Campaign, contact Homes Campaign Manager Herb Smith at hsmith@mcch.net or 301-917-6648.

Approximately 100 people representing more than 60 homeowners and
condominium organizations from across Montgomery County on Oct 23 attended a
forum in Rockville designed specifically for homeowner association and condo
board leaders. During the forum, which was hosted by County Councilmember
Nancy Floreen, participants exchanged ideas about problems they share and asked
the representatives of twelve County Government departments and agencies how they
could better work together.

Issues
raised during the forum ranged from speed humps on neighborhood roads to nuisance animals. Many participants said homeowner
associations, and especially condo boards—which can assess monthly dues in the
hundreds of dollars—need better tools for collecting overdue fees. Several
people had questions about the County’s recently revamped Water Quality Protection Charge and its associated credits.
Others expressed a need for individual utility meters in multi-family
buildings.

With
so many department and agency heads on hand, many participants who came with
questions or unresolved problems were able to leave the forum with answers or
commitments for further follow-up. Several participants expressed appreciation
for the opportunity to meet with leaders and decision-makers face-to-face.

“I
organized this forum because people who are involved with their homeowner
associations are connected to their community in a unique and highly localized
way,” said Councilmember Floreen, who chairs the Council’s Planning, Housing
and Economic Development Committee. “I wanted to make sure these volunteers
have the tools they need to continue in their good work.”

The
forum can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.
Many of the subjects discussed apply to homeowners and condominium
associations that were not represented at the forum. To view the forum, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_yPosvaJPY
.

More than 90 people have signed up to
testify as the Montgomery County Council will hold a second public hearing on
proposed changes to the County's Zoning Law starting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
Nov. 12, and continuing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14. The hearing will address
proposed changes to the law recommended by the County’s Planning Board and by the
Council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee. The
hearing will give residents a further opportunity to comment on Zoning Text
Amendment (ZTA) 13-04 and District Map Amendment (DMA) G-956.

The public
hearing will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office
Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. Each night of the hearing will be
televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and
RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and will be streamed through the County Web site at
www.montgomerycountymd.gov.

The PHED Committee, which is chaired by
Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers Marc Elrich and George Leventhal,
held worksessions every week in June and July, and on several occasions in
September, on the Planning Board’s recommended Zoning Law Rewrite. The
committee is expected to recommend amending many aspects of the text and map,
but until it completes its worksessions in December, its recommendations are
tentative.

The Council introduced the Planning
Board’s recommendations on May 2 following years of the Planning Board’s
extensive work and discussion with community groups and other stakeholders. The
Council heard from more than 50 speakers at a public hearing on the Planning
Board’s recommendations in January and has received extensive email and other
correspondence from County residents as the committee continues to do its work.

The Zoning Law has not been
comprehensively updated since 1977 and has grown to more than 1,200 pages over
the last 30 years. The goal of the Rewrite is to reorganize and simplify the
Zoning Code. Rewriting the code in plain language and reorganizing it into
rational sections will enable residents to more easily participate in key land
use decisions, and courts and agencies will have clearer rules to apply.

Although the County Charter calls for
only one public hearing, the Council decided to hold a second public hearing
because it recognizes the significance of the proposed text and map changes.
Few changes are proposed for single-family residential properties, but non-residentially
zoned properties and their neighbors could be affected. ZTA 13-04 would
implement the text changes to the Zoning Law, and DMA G-956 would update the
zoning for each property to apply a new zone. The proposed rezoning in DMA
G-956 is designed to mirror each property's current zoning as much as possible.

Residents can see the proposed Zoning
Rewrite, along with the tentative changes being considered by the PHED
committee, at www.zoningmontgomery.org.

On the Web site, residents also will find
an interactive map that enables users to determine the existing and proposed
zoning for every property in the County.
Clicking on a particular property will display the development standards
(density, height limits and setbacks) for the existing and proposed zone.

Written
testimony or comments about the proposed zoning changes can be mailed to County
Council / 100 Maryland Ave. / Rockville, Md. 20850 or emailed to all
Councilmembers at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
.

How children’s
meals at fast food and other types of restaurants contribute to obesity in
children was the focus of an Oct. 31 worksession held by the County Council’s
Health and Human Services Committee. The worksession included a presentation
from representatives of the nutrition policy section of the Center for Science
in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has produced a report entitled, “Kids’
Meals: Obesity on the Menu.”

The HHS
Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember George Leventhal and includes
Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Craig Rice, started the worksession by stating
it did not call for the discussion based on any developing legislation.
Committee members said they wanted to learn more about the findings of CSPI and
how restaurants in the County were trying to address the issue on their own initiative.

Margo Wootan, the director of nutrition policy for CSPI, was
among those attending the worksession. Also in attendance was Michaeline
Fedder, president of MD HEAL (Maryland Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle
Coalition, Inc.); Melvin Thompson, senior vice president for governmental
affairs and public policy for the Restaurant Association of Maryland; Joan
Rector McGlockton, vice president for food policy for the National Restaurant
Association; and Joy Dubost, director of nutrition for the National Restaurant
Association.

The report
"Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu" states that many restaurant chains
offer menu items especially for, and marketed to, children. Research has shown that children
consume on average 25 percent
of their daily calories at fast-food and other restaurants, meaning the
nutritional quality of those meals is important. The report investigates the
types of children's menu items and the nutritional quality of children's meals
at the largest restaurant chains in the United States.

“Fast food restaurants use toys and other sophisticated marketing
techniques to peddle food to children that isn't good for them,” said
Councilmember Leventhal. “Children are not equipped to make wise consumer
choices in their own best interest. This is a serious ethical problem. The
Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 91 percent of meals
specifically peddled to children fail to meet a minimum nutritional standard.

“We held this meeting to send a message to our local restaurant
industry that the Montgomery County Council takes seriously its charge to
promote a culture of wellness and advance public health. While we are not
considering legislation at this time, we will return to this topic again in the
future in the hope that local fast food restaurants will change their practices
and offer more healthful choices for children's meals.”

Of the top 50 chains, nine (18 percent) did
not havededicated
children's menu items or meals. Of the 41 chains with children's items, 34 (83
percent) offered children's meal combinations and provided adequate information
for nutrition analyses. The report assesses the nutritional quality of all
possible children's meal combinations against a set of standards developed by a
panel of nutrition and health experts, and against the National Restaurant
Association's (NRA) Kids LiveWell standards.

Of the 3,494 meal
combinations, 97 percent do not meet the expert nutrition standards for
children's meals and 91 percent do not meet the NRA's Kids LiveWell standards.
Nineteen of the restaurant chains offering children's meals (56 percent) do not
have evenone meal that
meets the expert nutrition standards and nine chains (26 percent) do not have
one meal that meets the Kids LiveWell standards.